Strength From a New World
by Hunterz50
Summary: Part 2 of Mike's experiences in Hinamizawa. This is his last chance. Will he be able to save his friends and loved ones? Will he be able to destroy the new evil that is after his life?


Starting Off Fresh

My name is Michael. Everyone just calls me Mike though. I don't really mind it too much so I can't complain. I am seventeen years old, and am out on my own. It's not that I was forced out of the house though. I chose to move out.

I don't have anything against my parents. In fact, they are probably the most supportive of me than anyone else. It makes me sad to have to leave them, but it's for their own good. I just don't want to bring them any more trouble than they've already had. You see, I was born with a... small defect. Angel wings.

The doctor's were astounded when they saw a baby with bloody, white… things coming out of its back. They had me stay at the hospital for a bit longer in order to figure out what they were. After a couple of days though, it was clear what they were when the first of the feathers began to grow from the frame of the wings.

They tried to remove the wings, being as I would be a freak of nature if I had them, but it turned out to be harder than they expected. As they were taking the saw to my excess appendages, they found that it wasn't even strong enough to cut through the muscles of my wings. The blade simply bounced off. They then tried numerous other methods, but they soon discovered that the wings automatically harden when threatened. They could find nothing to cut them. Their toughness was greater than any metal known to man. Not even a diamond blade, said to be the hardest substance, could not cut them.

The doctors soon gave up their attempts to remove the wings. They instead turned to studying them. They wanted to find out what they were made of and why they were so strong. They also began tests on me to find out why I was born with them in the first place. They were unable to find anything out of the ordinary about them. They found that they were made from the same materials that make up my skin, muscles, and bone. They were just two more limbs. Even if they hardened the wings to take a sample, they were unable to take it because while in the hardened state, it was impossible to even scratch them.

It wasn't long for my parents to get worried. They had agreed to let the doctors examine me for a while because they too were curious about my "condition", but it had been too long. They had been without their baby for a week and a half. Fears of terrible experiments began to flow through the minds of my parents. They went to the hospital to retrieve me. They were turned down.

My parents were furious. They ordered the doctors to return their son, but the doctors came up with some lame medical excuse to keep me. My parents then turned to the courts. The court agreed with them and ordered the doctors to return me. They still wouldn't give me up. They argued passionately about the new sciences that they could learn from me.

Eventually, the doctors were forced to release me. Many of them were sent to jail because of their acts. My parents also won quite a bit of money from them in a lawsuit, but the thing they were happiest about was having their baby back home in their arms.

* * *

School wasn't too difficult for me, at first. In the beginning years, the other kids were intrigued by me and my appearance. They had never seen anything like it. The closest they had seen of it was in movies. I enjoyed all the attention I was getting, but later it turned into something else.

I began to become irritated in the beginning years of middle school. The attention was fast becoming an annoyance. I would have easily become a very angry boy if my parents hadn't seen what was going on. They told me what was happening and explained that there was no need to become angry. I was able to calm down and I began ignoring the nuances that came to me.

The childish curiosity of the other kids soon began to fade as we began to grow up. They began to distance themselves from me. They began to make fun of me and my wings. I was lucky to have learned to ignore them. I knew that they were jealous that I had what they didn't. My mother often complimented me on that. She told me how mature I acted around others. Her praise made me happy.

It was my fifth year in school that my wings began responding to my commands. I had woken up one morning and felt something strange. I had always been able to feel the sensation of touch through my wings, but never could I feel any power in them. It was like they were almost dead. That one day though, I felt like I could use them. Excited, I ran out of the house to test them. Cautiously, I began to move them. They slowly shifted as I commanded. They felt like another pair of arms sticking out of my back. I began flapping them like you would flap your own wings, if you were pretending. I didn't have to pretend though.

I could feel the wind flow from behind me as I forced the air to move with my wings. The gust was powerful. If someone had been standing in front of me, they might have been forced to take a step backwards. I began flapping harder and harder. The wind beneath me moved faster and faster. I began to feel lift. I pushed harder. The sensation was that of fear and excitement. I was about to take off. I was about to do something that most people can only dream about. I pull my wings back as far as I can, crouch for my jump, and pray I don't kill myself.

"Noooo!"

I was tackled from the side. Instinctively, my wings wrapped around me and hardened. My father and I were knocked to the ground.

"Mike! What are you doing?" He yelled.

"I'm going to fly, dad." I replied matter-of-factly.

"You can't! You don't know anything about flying!"

I looked at my dad with confusion. He was right in saying that I knew nothing of flying, but I am obviously built for the task.

"Baby birds don't know anything about flying when their mother's kick them out of the nest." I retorted.

"Well that's…."

I had gotten him, but he still argued.

"You're not a bird! You're a human! Humans don't normally just fly off."

I opened my mouth to argue some more, but he stopped me.

"Okay okay, at least wait a bit. I know you want to fly, but let's at least study it a bit before we try."

I considered his request. I was forced to agree since I really didn't know what I would do once I was in the air.

The next week we spent studying flight. My father had collected books just for this occasion. He knew that I'd want to fly someday. After studying extensively, we headed out to a large field so I could finally take my first flight. My mother was extremely apprehensive about the whole thing, but father was able to convince her that it'd be okay.

I warmed up my wings with a few practice flaps. My father quickly learned not to stand in front of me when I was doing this. I nearly knocked him over. My excitement had again peaked. NOW, I was about to do something that most people can only dream about. I pulled my wings back once more. I crouched for the jump, and I went over everything I had learned in my head. I took a look at my father and he gave me a nod of approval. I looked down to prepare myself for my last moment safe on the earth.

*FWOOOSH!*

The ground was twenty feet away from me at that time. I watched as it began to come back to me. I panicked as I have forgotten to continue flapping. I sporadically beat my wings. I had to get some air before I hit the earth. Luckily, I was able to force myself to move upwards again. I was able to concentrate since that I'm out of danger, for the most part. I began pushing the air downwards and myself upwards. The ground began to leave me once again. My father got smaller and smaller. I finally realized that I was flying.

I let out a cry of joy. I was flying through the air under my own power. The experience was so freeing. I felt like I've just been born. I began to relax. The movements I made became less robotic as I began to feel at home in the sky. I was no longer running through what to do in my head as it was coming naturally to me.

I fly through the air above the field. I saw the landscape from where I was. Everything looked so beautiful. Soon I was over a lake. I decided to take a chance, and began to dive towards the lake. Immediately, I became scared at the speed I had picked up. I pulled up again to slow myself. Unfortunately, I pulled back too much and ended up perpendicular to the water below me. I tried to correct myself, but I curved my wings the wrong way. I was then falling with my back towards the lake. If I continued like that, I was going to hit the water. I frantically tried to correct myself, but only succeeded in putting myself into a tumble. My heart rate skyrocketed. I needed to correct my flight or I might end up dead. I couldn't figure out which way is up.

Everything began to slow down. I could hear my heart beating.

*Thump, Thump*

*Thump, Thump*

Multitudes of colors flashed across my eyes as I fell. The most prominent color was blue. I truly thought I was going to die. Visions of my short life flowed through my mind.

_I don't want to die. _I thought.

Suddenly my wings extended. My body flipped violently. I was looking straight down then. The water was ten feet away and getting closer by the second. I tilted the tips of my wings up slightly. I was face to face with my reflection for only a second, as I begin floating back up, using my speed to glide upwards. When I was a couple of feet away from the water, I resumed flapping. I gained speed and air. When I was at a decent altitude, I turned back towards the field. I had, had enough fun for that day.

I gently glided back to the field. I hadn't noticed earlier, but I was exhausted. My wings are powerful and using them takes quite a bit of energy. As I neared the place where I took off, I straightened myself out. When I descended, I was careful not to pull back too much and repeat my earlier accident. Unfortunately, I was too concentrated on not flipping over and hadn't calculated my speed. As I pulled up, I began shooting straight up. I was about seven feet up in the air when I dropped straight down. My father could only watch as I fell to the ground. A loud crunch could be heard as the bones in my legs snapped. Immediately, my father was there to help me. He carried me back to the car and drove me to the hospital. It was then that I found out something new about myself. During the ride, the pain had gradually gone down. When we arrived at the hospital we heard another crunching sound. It hadn't hurt as much as the first time and the pain only lasted for a split second. I moved my legs around and felt nothing out of the ordinary. My father stared at me in wonder. Cautiously, I exited the vehicle and stood. Both my legs were healed. There was no pain. It was like nothing ever happened.

_I can heal._ Is the only thought that came into my mind.

* * *

I began flying every day. I enjoyed my time in the air. I practiced as much as I could. Soon I was just about as agile as a bird. I learned the correct way to land, and many more tricks. Flying became a second nature to me. It was like the second me.

I spent many hours every day flying. It was an escape for me. Other kids had video games and TV, but I had flying. The sensations never got old. Every flight was an amazing experience. Life was fun thanks to flying.

Eventually, flying became the only thing I could look forward to. As I entered high school, many things began to change. Almost every person I came in contact with would shy away. No one would try to talk to me or do anything that involved me in it. I quickly became depressed. I looked at the people and all I saw was fear, envy, or disgust. They thought that I'm some sort of creature to have wings growing out of my back. It is painful to walk through the halls every day. I am losing the ability to ignore their taunts. I became isolated.

I was the kid who always sat in the far corner. I would never talk to anyone and no one would ever talk with me. Not even the teachers. I was never called on. No one wants to deal with me. It was also painful when I began taking notice of women. I had many crushes. Sometimes I would work up the courage to try to talk to the ones I liked, but it never turned out well. Half the time they would run away. I learned quickly to not even try.

My parents tried to comfort me, but it wasn't any use. There wasn't anything they could do for me. I had decided to move. My mother was totally against it, but my father saw my reasoning. If I couldn't fit in here, then I just needed to find a place where I did. I didn't pack much, as I had to travel by my own power. When I was about to head out, I went back to say goodbye one last time. Before I leapt into the air, I apologized.

"I'm sorry. I'll be giving up my last name from now on. I don't want to bring any more disgrace to you guys. It doesn't mean that I don't love you guys though." I explained to the ones I loved. "I'll miss you. Thank you for taking care of me."

My mother cried as I left and my father waved me off. I took off and headed in whichever direction seemed best for me.

* * *

I stopped at many cities. After staying a little while at each I found that the people always have the same opinion of me. I reasoned that it might just be city people. They are always so busy and nothing interesting ever happens in their lives. I decide to try the country. To my despair, the results were nearly identical.

I searched for a long time. I went from city to city. No one wanted anything to do with me. Soon, I became known as the "Angel Boy". I surprised when I heard someone refer to me with that nickname. Apparently he had heard it on the news. I frowned at the fact that I had made the news again since my birth. I hoped that my parents hadn't seen it.

After a while, I reached the coast. Again the people did not accept me. I became angry and depressed. I questioned whether or not I was human. I hated myself and everyone around me. If they couldn't accept me, then I wouldn't accept them. I began to have a distain for ordinary people.

Wanting to leave the coast cities, I contemplated where to go next. During school I had taken a language class in Japanese on a whim. I enjoyed the class and did well in it. I could now speak a pretty decent amount of Japanese. The decision was easy once I thought about it. _Who better to accept someone so abstract as me than those silly Japanese_. I thought to myself.

With my mind made up, I head out again. The trip was long and hard. I began to scold myself for thinking I could cross an ocean. At the time, I had gotten a lot of practice flying. I could fly fast and far, but I had never tested my limits. It seems that I had misjudged my strength as I was going to plummet into the ocean. I was the luckiest person in the world when I saw the carrier.

I easily snuck aboard and found a place to hide. After I was rested, I headed back out again. I had to spy on the bridge of the ship in order to figure out which direction I needed to go, but my eyes are sharper than the average humans. Soon, I was back in the air and on my way to my new home.

I let out a sigh of relief when I saw land in the distance. I flew a little higher to get a better overhead look at the land. To my relief again, it was Japan. I found a place to rest and prepared for the next days. It didn't take long for me to realize that I might have made a mistake. Everything seemed to be going well at first, but it seemed that the only citizens that would even talk to me were a group known as "Otaku". Even they became bored with me after a while. Again I was in the same situation I was in before.

I began my city hopping once more and again I found the city people to be the same as ever. I then moved to country towns. Again, they were a little better, but not completely good. It was at one of these towns that I found my answer.

"You might want to go to Hinamizawa." An old man suggested to me. To me he looked mysterious. The fact that he talked to me without me addressing him first also confused me. People never speak to me first. "It's a small village and the community is pretty tightly woven. You might find that they will accept you for who you are." He continued.

"Thank you, I think I will try that." I replied.

The man was walking around the corner as I was thanking him. I wanted to talk a bit more with him, but as I turned the corner myself, I found nothing. He had disappeared.

I searched for the old man, but he was completely gone. I gave up my search after an hour of lurking and flying. I then asked someone for directions to Hinamizawa since my search had been fruitless. Once I got them, I headed out.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Hinamizawa. I just followed the directions I was given; though I did stop a few times before I made it there. I kept getting weird expressions from the ones I was asking about Hinamizawa. I could tell that it wasn't because of me though. They seem to know something about Hinamizawa that they aren't telling me. I'm starting to have doubts about going, but I decided to check it out anyways. Not like I had anything to lose.

After about three days of flying I arrived in a town called Okinomiya. I had heard that this town was the next one to Hinamizawa so I decided to ask around about this small village. I began asking about my destination, but I only received weird looks. I could tell that half of them were because of my appearance, but most were because of Hinamizawa.

I finally arrived at the police station in Okinomiya. I thought for sure that they would know something. I was lucky when I was introduced to a man known as Ooishi. He told me that he was in charge of the police activity involving Hinamizawa. I ask him why everyone seems so suspicious of the village. He gives me a mysterious grin.

"Hinamizawa was once called "the Village of the demons." He tells me.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"It is said that demons would come from the marsh near the village. They would come and feast on the villagers. Some say that they are humans only possessed by demons so they call them "Cannibal demons." He explains.

"I see."

Though he looks serious, I can't seem to believe his story.

"If that's the case, I'm sure I'll be fine." I tell him.

"Oh? You think that you can take on man-eating demons?"

"I do. I don't look strange for no reason. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeves."

He laughs.

"Very well. If you'd be willing to stay in Okinomiya for another day, I'll personally escort you to Hinamizawa tomorrow."

"Thank you for the offer, but I wonder if that's necessary at all."

"Maybe not, but I can drop you off at the leader of Hinamizawa's place. You'll probably like to speak with them before you make residence in Hinamizawa."

I consider his offer. I realize that it would probably be a good idea to meet with leader of the village. If I get in trouble, things might not go so well, going off of what Ooishi is telling me. I agree to stay in Okinomiya for the night.

I found a place to perch. I haven't really lived in a house since I left home. So far, I haven't found a place I like enough to even think about staying. Every night, I find a new place to perch. I am protected from the weather by my wings. They serve well as a portable tent. I also choose to perch because no one bothers me when I do.

When morning comes I meet Ooishi in front of the station. We began driving off towards Hinamizawa. As we drive, Ooishi rants about this and that. I don't mind it too much as I am enjoying the scenery. The only part of the trip that I don't like is the ride itself. I hadn't been in a car since I was unable to fly. Being in one now made me feel constricted and confined. Ooishi offered to let me out for a bit, but I told him to go on. I'm not too weak as to not be able to stand this discomfort.

After an hour or so of driving, we arrive in front of a mansion. Ooishi tells me that we have reached our destination. I step out of the car quickly. I breathe in the fresh air of the village. I suddenly feel relieved. It might be because I was able to get out of the car, but there seemed to be another reason. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like I was home.

I turn back to Ooishi and ask him if he's coming. He laughs and explains that the Sonozaki's, the heads of Hinamizawa, aren't too favorable towards him. Looks like they have had some run-ins in the past. He leaves as I wave goodbye.

I look around once more. The scenery is a lot different from that of the city. I had seen country scenery before, but this place seemed to be more beautiful than anywhere else. I take another deep breath and again I feel the sensation of relief.

After I have taken the time to enjoy my surroundings, I head to the main gate of the mansion. I am surprised at the one who answers the door. In front of me stands a beautiful young girl. She's about my age. She has light green hair, dark green eyes, and a somewhat cocky smile. My mouth nearly drops open at her beauty.

"Heard that there was someone who wanted to move into Hinamizawa. I take it that you're that person?" She asks.

"Umm…yeah. My name is Mike."

I am a little taken back since she was the first to speak. I'm not used to it since no one ever seems to want anything to do to me.

"I'm Mion Sonozaki. Nice to meet you."

She holds out her hand as she gives me a friendly smile. I can't help but smile back. I take her hand and shake it.

"Ooishi called to tell us that you wanted to talk with Baa-chan. She's waiting for you so we better not make her wait." She explains.

I can tell that she doesn't like Ooishi. She kind of rolled her eyes when she said his name. I make a mental note of it. She leads me down the hallways of the mansion. I'm smiling at having met such a beautiful girl. It makes me happy that she didn't run off the first time she saw me. Unfortunately, I figure out that she probably doesn't even know about me yet. She's only seen the front of me so far and it's a little dark inside the mansion. I can only hope that everything doesn't change once she see's my other half. I've gotten good at hiding them from the front, but it's completely impossible from the back.

As we walk, Mion explains what to do in front of Oryou, her grandmother and head of the family. From what she's saying, I can tell that her grandma isn't someone to mess with. She sounds kinda scary.

I met with Oryou. I explained my situation to her. I showed her the part of me that everyone is so afraid of. I half expected a gasp, but I didn't hear any. I look at Mion through the corner of my eye. She looks surprised. She obviously hadn't noticed before. I know that this will probably be the last time she willing makes any contact with me. I let out an audible sigh.

Oryou chuckles.

"You don't like them?" She asks me.

"Huh? Oh, no. I do like them. It's just that they seem to push everyone around me away. I'm just trying to find somewhere where I can live peacefully." I reply.

"I understand your dilemma. It can't be easy being the only human with wings."

Her words sting. She is blunt. I have a hard time keeping from looking away.

"Y-yes well, I'm just looking for a place where I might be accepted. An old man suggested I come here so I took his advice."

She chuckles again. "I see. I can't guarantee you anything, but I will tell you that you are free to live here. It could be interesting to have someone like you around. I will expect for you to get a job though. I don't want you to be living in the place we're going to give you forever."

Immediately I am filled with joy. Though she is blunt and somewhat scary, Oryou is a person who is accepting me. This hasn't happened for me in a long time.

"Thank you very much. I will make sure to find some work. I'll do whatever it takes."

I bow down to the woman. She instructs Mion to lead me to the place that I'll be staying. My joy doesn't last for long. As we walk through the halls, I am reminded that others still may not accept me; Mion included.

We walk a ways down the road and come to a small house. I follow Mion to the door. She opens the door up and turns to hand me the keys. She is smiling.

"Here you go, Mike-kun. Looks like we're going to be neighbors from now on. Hope you don't mind if I drop by from time to time to check up on you."

I am completely surprised and shocked. Her words are sincere. She is cheerful. She actually wantsto come visit me. This isn't what I expected at all.

"Uhh…yeah. Sure." I smile back at her.

She gives me a mysterious smile. "Don't get any weird ideas though. Just because you would have a girl alone with you in the house doesn't mean that you can do anything with me."

"What? What are you talking about? I would never do anything like that!"

She starts laughing. I can't quite understand why though. I haven't ever had someone accuse me of something like that. After a moment though, I realize that she was totally kidding.

"Hahaha! You should have seen your face! You thought I was serious!" She laughs.

My cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

"I-it's not my fault! No one's ever joked with me like that. I hardly get anyone to talk to me as it is."

"Ah, poor Mikey. Hasn't had any girls to play with him."

Again my cheeks burn red. Mion laughs harder at seeing how inexperienced at this sort of thing I am. I can only stand there embarrassed. I am extremely tempted to wrap myself up in my wings so she can't look at me. After a while, she begins to calm down.

"Ah, that was nice. I haven't laughed that hard in a while." She says.

"Glad you could find so much amusement out of making fun of me." I reply.

"Oh, come on Mike. Don't be like that. I was just kidding."

"Yeah, I'm just not used to it so go easy on me from now on."

She gives a mischievous grin. "Nah, you'll just have to get used to it."

I sigh. "Okay. I'll try."

She comes over to me and pats me on the back. "It'll be ok Mike. We'll take good care of you. I promise. We'll have lots of fun together. You wait and see."

I haven't ever been as embarrassed as I was in that moment. Never has a girl even thought of touching me. I would have never expected to meet a girl like this in Hinamizawa. She doesn't even care what I look like or anything.

_Maybe that old man was right._

"Hey, Mion."

"Yeah, Mike?"

"Do you think I'm…weird?" I ask.

"Weird? Hmm… I don't know. Maybe a little bit. I'm sure you'll become a little less awkward with time though."

It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that she's talking about my social skills. It took me completely surprised. I ended up standing there to nearly ten seconds without saying anything. I'm finally brought back to my senses when Mion pats me on the shoulder again. This time it was a bit too hard.

"Oh, sorry. You were spacing out and I had to get you back to your senses. I don't know my own strength sometimes. Probably shouldn't be spacing out in the first place though."

*Cough* "Is that how you apologize?"

"Haha. I said I was sorry, didn't I?"

"I guess. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to offend you or anything."

She sighs. "I was just kidding Mike. You don't need to be so serious all the time."

"Oh. Sorry." My cheeks are burning yet again.

Not wanting to make me feel any worse she starts to leave. "I'll see you later, Mike. I'm going to take you to school tomorrow so be ready. 'kay?"

"Uhh…okay."

As she walks back to her house I start to open my mouth to ask some questions about why she's taking me to school on the first day I moved here. Unfortunately, I was unable to due to my socially awkwardness.

*Sigh* _Not my fault I can't talk well and get embarrassed easily. I didn't choose to be born a weirdo._

_

* * *

_

I had easily adjusted back to living inside a house. I enjoyed the warmth of the place I was living much more then the cold of the outside. Even with my wings protecting me, the inside is so much better than the outside.

Just as she promised, Mion showed up at my place early. She scolded me for not being ready, and I complained that she never specified the time. She didn't listen to anything I said though. She was too busy ordering me around.

After I finished getting ready she pulled me out by the arm. "H-hey! Wait!" I complained again.

"Come on, Mike! We're going to be late!" Again she ignores my pleas. "If we're late because of you, you'll have to face the punishment."

I'm slightly scared to ask what she means by punishment. Knowing her, it could be bad.

She finally let go after I promised to hurry. When we arrived at the school, I had thought that we would be the last ones there since we were a little late. I was surprised when we were the first. I turn to Mion and glare. Feeling a little sarcastic from hanging around her a make a comment. "Ah man. Looks like we were so late that school's over and everyone has left."

She smiles. "Looks like someone DOES have a sense of humor."

I sigh. _Wonder if she'll ever listen to what I have to say._

"Not likely, Mike." She says.

"Huh?" I wonder if I had said it out loud.

"You were thinking that I would ever listen to you, right?"

I am completely amazed. "Yeah…How did you know?"

She scoffs. "Your face tells me everything. You aren't very good at hiding anything, are you?"

I sigh again. "It's not my fault." I say under my breath.

She starts laughing. "I know, Mike. I'm just messing around with you again."

"You sure get a lot of pleasure from making fun of me."

"If you really don't like it, I can stop." She suggests.

I look her in the eyes. She is completely serious right now. She really doesn't want to hurt my feelings or anything. I'm really thankful that she's being so considerate.

"No it's fine. I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'll probably be able to mess around with you soon enough so you watch out as well."

She begins laughing again. "Haha! That's the spirit, Mike!"

She gives me a large grin. I smile back at her. I am beginning to feel close to her. I also feel some sort of familiarity from her. It's like I've known her all my life.

The teacher of the school comes in a little while after we did. Mion explains that I'll be joining school from now on. The teacher looks me over for a second. Again, I don't see the usual distain most people show towards me. She only smiles and welcomes me to her class. I can hardly believe how easy it was.

That day, I was asked to introduce myself to the entire class. I had a hard time with it. My social skills truly needed improvement. I was able to get through it when Mion shouted some encouragement, though my cheeks instantly turned red again. I'm not sure I'll be able to hide the fact that I have a crush on her for very long.

Mion introduced me to her friends. The first one she introduced me to was Rena. Mion explained that Rena has a tendency to enter a "cute" mode. I have no idea what she's talking about, but she assures me that I'll figure it out later. The second friend she introduces is Rika. Rika gives me a big smile and lets out a "Nipah!" as Mion introduces me to her. Lastly, Mion introduces me to Satoko. She tells me that Satoko is a natural born trap master and to watch out for her. I make a mental note of her warning. After being introduced, I feel a great deal of warmth. I feel like I've known these girls for a long time. I'm happy to have them in my life now.

The rest of school went quickly. Most of the work I was given was pretty simple. I ended up finishing about half an hour before class was over. I ended up watching the rest of the class work for the rest of the time. When the bell was rung for the end of class, I got up to leave, but Mion grabbed my arm.

"Hold on, Mike. Do you think you could stay till after class for a while?"

I could barely stand it. The way she was asking me; it felt like if I said no, it'd be the same as kicking a puppy. There was only one answer that I could give her.

"Yeah, sure. What's going on after school?"

She begins explaining about some club. I can't quite understand exactly what she's talking about, but luckily, Rika comes to clarify what this club is about. I am thankful towards this younger girl. She seems to be the fondest of me out of all the other kids.

She has even begun to call me "Mikey." I remember Mion calling me that earlier, but she was talking like she would to a baby. Satoko also seems to be fond of me. She keeps giving me mysterious looks. It's like she's planning something. I just don't know what it is. Rena finds me "cute". I don't know what to think about her. Her personality is odd. Apparently, she finds random things cute and wants to take them home. Unfortunately for her, my wings aren't detachable.

I am interested in the club. I haven't ever been in a club in all the schools I've been in. I haven't even been asked. This is a great honor to me. I agreed to join. What I wasn't expecting was the ridiculously one-sided games. It didn't take me long to find out that the game we were playing was rigged. It seems that all four girls are in on it. When I pointed out the one-sidedness, the all gave me an evil grin. I suddenly realize that I need to think like them in order to become one of them. For now though, I am at their mercy.

Naturally, the result of our game was my defeat. My punishment…face graffiti. Apparently, it's one of the mildest "punishment games" they have. I'm going to have to be ready to take these punishment games. Though they are embarrassing, I actually like the attention I'm getting.

We all walk home together. As we walk, I think about these new friends. I feel like I've known them all my whole life. I've never felt such warmth. Never have I had friends; much less, friends as good as these. I am unable to contain my feelings. The pure joy is too much for me. Tears begin to flow from my eyes. I stop walking and begin weeping.

My friends immediately become worried. To them, I'm crying for no reason. They comfort me as best as they can, but their company only makes me cry more. I continue to cry for ten minutes. I calm down after that ten minutes and begin to explain why I'm crying.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I've never had anyone like you guys. No one has ever treated me as nicely as you guys. To everyone else, I was some sort of monster. They would only talk to me out of complete necessity. I've never felt love like you guys have made me feel. Thank you so much. You don't know how much it means to me for you to be friends with me."

The four girls crowd around me and hug me. Again my cheeks turn red. The only girl that has ever hugged me was my mother. I feel that I've only just begun to live. My sadness and loneliness will disappear. I have found a place that I can be accepted here in Hinamizawa.

I can finally say, "I'm home."

* * *

*Author's note*

Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. My Beta reader is a little slow at getting back to me.


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